Shoal Creek Baptist Church

Shoal Creek Baptist Church. . The first of three Baptist Churches was built on this site about 1842 as white pioneer settlers increased. The present building was constructed about 1895. The only surviving church book, begun in 1898, shows sixty-eight male and seventy-six female members. In the early years of the twentieth century the population decreased to the point that the diminishing membership ceased meeting here in 1914. Occasional events, including wedding, reunions, and "old-fashioned" church services are held at the church by reservation. Since 1921, an annual Sacred Harp shape note singing held each Labor Day is the only regular service., Reverse Side , The 2.83-acre site is private property surrounded by the Talladega National Forest; the U.S. Forest Service maintains the road leading to the site. For more than a century, descendants of early settlers have periodically maintained the building and its adjoining cemetery. In 1986, they formally organized the Shoal Creek Church Preservation Society under the leadership of William Lee Jones, grandson of an original builder. This non-profit entity represents scores of area families bearing such names as Cheatwood, Holley, Edwards, Coleman, Roach, Dunn, Thompson, Johnson, Knighten, and Jones.